1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to baling devices and, more particularly, to a bale discharge apparatus for use in guiding each of a plurality of bales of crop material between a bale forming chamber of a baler and the ground as each of the bales is delivered from the bale forming chamber.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Crop baling devices are available for baling crop material and the like into bales of generally parallelepipedal shape each having a predetermined height and width and defining top and bottom sides, lateral sides, and front and rear ends. In these known balers, the formed bales are of a size small enough to permit manual handling thereof without the need for mechanical expedients to move the bales from one location to another.
However, in order to permit the bales to be handled in large quantities, mechanical bale retrievers exist which travel behind a baler picking up the bales after they are discharged. Typically, in order for known mechanical retrievers to operate, the bales discharged from the baler must be turned onto one of their lateral sides rather than resting on the ground in the same orientation as that of bales exiting the baler.
In order to achieve this quarter-turning of the bales exiting the baler, it is known to provide a chute assembly that includes a generally horizontal plate underlying the path of exiting bales and extending laterally inward of the path by a distance of less than about one half the width of the bales such that as the bales move across the plate when exiting the bale forming chamber of the baler, they fall sideways from the plate. A gap is defined by the chute assembly adjacent the plate through which the bales are permitted to fall to the ground after they have been turned.
A problem encountered in the use of these known types of chute assemblies on balers resides in the occurrence of bales rolling from their side surfaces as they contact the ground after exiting the baler. As mentioned above, it is necessary for the bale to be properly oriented on one of its lateral sides in order for a mechanical bale retriever to operate in a satisfactory manner. Thus, there is a need for an apparatus which will permit bales to be safely guided to the ground from the baler without turning over.
One attempted solution to this problem includes the use of a strip of flexible material which is attached to an outlet end of the bale forming chamber of a baler. By providing such a strip which extends behind the baler by a short distance, turned bales dropping from the chute assembly engage the strip and are slowed in their descent to the ground until the movement of the baler pulls the strip from beneath the bale causing the bale to be left on the ground behind the baler. However, this attempted solution does not provide satisfactory guiding of bales from the baler to the ground and the problem of bales rolling off of their lateral side surfaces as they exit the baler continues to occur even when such a strip is used.